On Tearing Down & Building Up
The most powerful and galvanizing emotions are fear, love, and guilt. When we are activated, it is easy to confuse fear with love, and weaponize guilt into shame, passion into hate in order to compel others to empathize with us, to listen to us, to love us.
We fight louder, we other others and we silence the “others” who do the same. We can’t stand the inconsistency and dissociation any longer so we hurry to force the external world to match our internal world.
But wouldn’t the impact be greater, kinder, and longer lasting, if we also admit to the need to examine our internal worlds?
We don’t want to be left behind, abandoned and forgotten. There is nothing evil about that. It is human nature. And whether we are left, right, black, brown, yellow, or blue, perhaps what we yearn for is to be heard, included, and valued for the robustness and complexity that we all possess.
We want so much to have a history for all to see that is made in our image and we fear that if we don’t tear down the parts of us that we are so disgusted by, there will never be a time for us to leave a mark we believe reflects our truth.
Abolishment is a part of progress, but I think we’d be missing out on the greater good if we don’t also erect new statues and symbols that push humans and all beings forward.
The new statues we erect, shall not just be made of bronze, stone, or steel. It shall be made of thoughts, words, and behaviors that collectively bend the arc of justice toward good.
